Transition to Adulthood

Ideal and unsullied: Purity, subjectivity and social power

by Robbie Duschinsky

Draft only; Published in Subjectivity

There has been a good deal of empirical social scientific research which has addressed the theme of purity and has... more There has been a good deal of empirical social scientific research which has addressed the theme of purity and has indicated its social importance. However, few theoretical resources are available to scholars which explicitly attempt to analyse purity, besides Mary Douglas’s structural-functionalist model. This model has many insights, but is not well-adapted to considering issues of subjectivity or social power in contemporary Western societies. This article will attempt to take some steps towards filling this gap. It will be claimed that, through the way they appeal to an imputed essence and origin, purity discourses are often complicit in the consecration and occlusion of relations of power and processes of subjectivation. The argument will focus in particular on the operation of purity discourses in the discursive construction and practical negotiation of female adolescence.

Childhood Innocence: Essence, Education and Performativity

by Robbie Duschinsky

Draft Only; forthcoming in Textual Practice

Building from an analysis of Wedekind and Foucault, it will be argued that modern childhood has been constructed as... more Building from an analysis of Wedekind and Foucault, it will be argued that modern childhood has been constructed as both natural and in need of cultivation and regulation. Through practices which seem to protect and nurture innocence, a particular account of the ‘natural purity’ of children can be materially and discursively produced without this seeming to be an artificial imposition. Moreover, I shall propose that imputing innocence to children allows a covert ontology to be constructed for particular groups of adults or society more generally; claims about the nature of the particular groups of adults, or society generally, can be smuggled into such accounts via claims about the child they may once have been. I shall depict innocence discourses as complex: capable of beneficial effects but also complicit in the production, stabilisation and occlusion of potentially troubling effects on relations of power, emotion and meaning in modern societies.

The transitions to adulthood of young people with multiple disadvantages

by Jane Parry

Parry, J. (2006) ‘The Transitions to Adulthood of Multiply-Deprived Young People’, in C. Leccardi and E.Ruspini (eds.) A New Youth? Young People, Generations and Family Life, Aldershot: Ashgate.

This chapter examines the implications of these issues for young people’s expectations and self-perceptions, with... more This chapter examines the implications of these issues for young people’s expectations and self-perceptions, with reference to a group of multiply disadvantaged young people in the UK. It draws upon qualitative research with disadvantaged young people at a stage in their lives (post-compulsory education) when they were expecting to have to made significant transitions from school to work, into their own housing, and in terms of personal relationships and family formation (Lakey et al., 2001). Semi-structured biographical interviews were employed, using a detailed topic guide. While this provided a comparable context for the research, tracking young people’s progress through key transitions (Thomson et al., 2004), the format of the interviews varied, with interviewers employing probes and prompts to ensure that the research process reflected and explored the diverse and individual circumstances of young people’s lives.

Transition to Adult Services Among Behaviorally Infected Adolescents With HIV--A Qualitative Study

by Jessica Valenzuela

Objectives The present study aimed to describe the experiences of youth with behaviorally acquired HIV who... more Objectives The present study aimed to describe the experiences of youth with behaviorally acquired HIV who transitioned to adult care, to identify difficulties encountered, and to explore areas for improvement. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 young adults ranging from 24 to 29 years old. Themes were derived from coding participant interviews. Results Participants experienced adolescent care providers as an important source of support, felt anxiety about transition, provided recommendations for improving the process, and described significant changes associated with adult HIV care. Conclusions Findings support the development of a clear and structured transition process to address patients’ fears and worries through early communication, planning, and coordination for adult healthcare, highlighting the need for future research in this area.

How to do Words with Things

by Pierluca Birindelli